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Israel has launched dozens of airstrikes against Iran, targeting the top two commanders in nuclear programs, military facilities and catastrophic attacks that have driven the Middle East into a new war.
Images from Iranian provincial television say the site of Natanz, one of the country’s two major nuclear power plants, was hit around 4:15am, showing thick black smoke rising from the area.
After shaking a massive explosion at 3:30am local time on Friday, state television showed smoke rising from the main command headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard, the regime’s most powerful army in eastern Tehran’s regime.
Iran’s state news agency said several senior soldiers have been killed, including Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the elite revolutionary security guards.
Major General Mohammad Bagheli, the Iranian military’s chief of staff, was also killed, state television reported. Mohammad Medi Tehlanchi, a well-known physics professor, and Feredun Abbasi, former head of Iran’s atomic organization, were also killed, the state news agency said.
International oil benchmark Brent Crude spiked 12.5% before being stored to rise 5% to 5% at nearly $73 in London following the strike. S&P 500 futures fell 1.4%, while global stocks fell.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “stricken at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” and that it targeted the Republic’s “primary nuclear scientist” and its ballistic missile factory, Natanz.
Israeli military officials said dozens of strikes had begun. Another source said the attack could last for two weeks.
The Israeli Defense Forces said Iran had fired around 100 drones at Israel, but Israel was working to intercept it. Iran did not confirm that it had begun retaliation.
The US said it was not involved in the attack, but it came before negotiations for the sixth round of Sunday between the Trump administration and Iran to resolve the nuclear crisis.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington was “very close to a pretty good deal,” adding that Israel doesn’t want to attack Iran.
However, Netanyahu, who had lobbyed the US to support military action against Iran, said Tehran was buying time by hinting at us and demanding Iran stop the nuclear enrichment program.
“That’s why we have no choice but to act and act now,” Netanyahu said.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel should “expect severe punishment.”
“Through this crime, the Zionist regime has created a fate that is painful and painful in itself, and it is certainly something that we will face,” he said. “With God’s permission, the powerful hand of the Islamic Republic’s army will not leave it unpunished.”
Iranian officials also said they were responsible for the attack on the United States. Earlier this week, Tehran repeated the warning that if the Republic is attacked, it could target US bases throughout the region.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington “is not involved in strikes against Iran, so our number one priority is to protect the US troops in the region.”
“Israel advised us that they believe this action is necessary for self-defense,” Rubio added. “Let me be clear: Iran should not target our interests or personnel.”
The strike follows a month-long standoff on Iran’s nuclear program as Tehran has enriched uranium close to arms-grade for several years.
Israel and the United States have pledged to prevent the Republic from developing nuclear weapons. Tehran claims that its programme is for peaceful civilian purposes, but it has the capacity to produce sufficient fission material needed for nuclear weapons within two weeks.
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Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the UN Nuclear Watch Agency is “examining the deep situation regarding the Iranian situation” after the attack on Natantz.
He said the agency is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels.
The UN Atomic Watchdog board on Thursday declared Iran in breach of such accusation of non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years.
The strike thwarted a nearly two-year conflict in the Middle East that began with the war between Israel and Hamas caused by the extremist group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Additional Reports by Jamie Smith and Steph Chavez of New York
